Carol II of Romania

Carol II of Romania (15 October 1893-4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 to 6 September 1940, interrupting Michael I of Romania's two reigns as monarch. Carol's reign saw realignment with Nazi Germany, support for anti-Semitic policies, and the creation of a royal dictatorship in 1937, and he was forced to abdicate and go into exile by the fascist Prime Minister Ion Antonescu. His son, the young Michael I of Romania, succeeded him as king.

Biography
Carol was born in Peles Castle, Romania on 15 October 1893, the son of King Ferdinand I of Romania and Marie of Edinburgh. As crown prince, he was forced by a liberal regime to renounce the succession to the throne on the pretext of his relationship with a mistress, but in reality because of his anti-liberal views. He returned from exile in 1930 and was accepted as king by the new right-wing government of Iuliu Maniu, albeit with considerable reluctance. In response to the co-operation of the National Peasants' Party and the Iron Guard, he argued that constitutional rule had become practically impossible, and created a royal dictatorship in 1937. His new constitution, which abolished all political parties and created a corporatist state, was accepted in a plebiscite in 1938. He ventured to keep the country out of World War II, restricting the country's role to that of Nazi Germany's major supplier of oil. He also agreed to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's demands and ceded Bessarabia and Bukovina to the USSR on 28 June 1940, maintaining his neutrality. However, the loss of the most important areas of Transylvania to Hungary led to further losses. On 7 September 1940, southern Dobrudja was ceded to Bulgaria, and nationalist uproar forced the king to abdicate. He died in exile in Lisbon, Portugal.